NARAL swipes at Gardner on women’s issues - Senate Dems banking on technology for a turnout boost - A tearful end to Massachusetts’s gubernatorial debate

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FIRST IN SCORE — MAYDAY PAC makes moves in Kansas, South Dakota: The group is launching a TV ad backed by a $500,000 buy that features commentary from Kansas voters — who identify as Republicans — who say GOP Sen. Pat Roberts is a tool of deep-pocketed special interests. The ad is running on broadcast networks in Wichita. http://youtu.be/VeimGPKW1q8

-- The group is relying on a similar tactic in South Dakota, where it’s up with an ad featuring a Republican rancher and father of 12 who says he can’t support Republican Mike Rounds for Senate because of a controversy over his role in a questionable EB-5 visa program. The rancher, Pat Trask, claims to have voted for Reagan and Bush — he doesn’t say which one — as well as South Dakota GOP Sen. John Thune. The ad, running statewide on broadcast and cable networks, is part of a $2.25 million spend in the race by MAYDAY. http://youtu.be/OAcZzXtOe6k

POPPING THIS MORNING — Senate map is as tight as it’s been in years: Campaign Pro’s Tarini Parti reports: “It’s the largest and most wide-open Senate battlefield in more than a decade: 10 races, all neck-and-neck affairs headed into the final days of the campaign … The 10 close contests this cycle are all separated by 5 points or less, according to RealClearPolitics polling averages as of Tuesday. Fewer races were that close right before recent midterms: eight in 2010 and five in 2006. And in recent presidential cycles, there were eight in 2012, three in 2008 and five in 2004 that were equally tight.” http://politi.co/1rzQDRO

-- “Senate Dems last stand: GOTV tech,” By Darren Samuelsohn: “Senate Democrats won’t be thanking President Barack Obama or any grand new policy platform if they somehow manage to hold on to their majority in this year’s tough midterm environment. Here’s what they will be indebted to: technology … Political experts say a strong GOTV campaign can yield a 1-, 2- or even 3-point bump — the political equal of a field goal — in the final outcome of a race. Mindful of that payoff, Democrats have spent millions of dollars this cycle to scale down Obama’s campaign operation by adding a full slate of tech weaponry designed to find their voters (and make sure they get to the polls) in races from Alaska to Iowa to North Carolina.” http://politi.co/1nPSIOo

Q POLL IN CONNECTICUT:STILL TIED — Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy and Republican Tom Foley are still deadlocked in the Nutmeg State, 43-43, a new Quinnipiac University poll out this morning says. Independent Joe Visconti is at 7 percent — but there’s no indication that his voters are headed in one direction over the other (Foley leads 46-45 when his supporters are asked to choose between the major-party hopefuls). Foley has better image ratings (43 percent favorable/43 percent unfavorable) than the upside-down incumbent (41/52). http://bit.ly/10ygPH7

MA-Gov: The final televised debate in the contest featured a few memorable exchanges — but none more than Republican Charlie Baker’s tearful recollection of his encounter with a down-on-his-luck fisherman. Baker choked up as he recounted the fisherman’s story, and it prompted a string of heartfelt exchanges with Democrat Martha Coakley. The answer came in response to a question about the last time Baker cried. Asked the same question, Coakley said it happened earlier in the day when she attended a service for a local worker who died after a battle with leukemia.

NY-11: A raucous crowd at Staten Island College cheered and jeered throughout a NY1 and Staten Island Advance-sponsored debate between GOP Rep. Michael Grimm and Democratic challenger Domenic Recchia. Grimm generated plenty of heat when he said Recchia's (false) accusations that he skinny-dipped in the Sea of Galilee while on a congressional delegation to Israel. The comments revealed "who the true liar on this stage is," Grimm said. "I wasn't indicted for perjury or for lying under oath," Recchia angrily retorted.

At another point in the debate, a moderator asked Grimm about threatening to toss an NY1 reporter off a congressional balcony. Grimm apologized for his reactions, but added: "At the end of the day, I'm a United States Marine, and I'm tenacious." Recchia noted Grimm seems to have a knack for generating controversy: "Mr. Grimm has many problems and every day it's something new." Both candidates also weren't able to say what the last book they read was. Grimm eventually volunteered that it was something by Tom Clancy, and Recchia said he had been too busy meeting people on the campaign trail to read.

NH-02: Democratic Rep. Ann McLane Kuster and Republican Marilinda Garcia battled over their attendance at critical public hearings and votes, and they disagreed over the U.S. strategy to counter ISIL, WMUR reports: http://bit.ly/1rSfiSL

RACE TO NOVEMBER — “Homestretch: The 5 most suspenseful House races,” by POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt: “Arizona’s 2nd: Democratic Rep. Ron Barber, a popular congressman and shooting spree survivor, and Republican Martha McSally, a retired Air Force officer who was the first female to fly in combat … California’s 52nd: Republican Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego councilman and one of his party’s highest profile recruits, nearly saw his campaign collapse this month when an ex-staffer accused him of sexual harassment … Nebraska’s 2nd … New York’s 11th: Just a few months ago, who would have guessed that scandal-plagued GOP Rep. Michael Grimm would be on his way to reelection? Yet that’s precisely what appears to be happening … West Virginia’s 3rd: http://politi.co/ZXzonc

-- “Republicans turn on [NRCC] chair,” by POLITICO’s Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan: “[Rep. Greg] Walden’s detractors say there’s no case to keep the Oregonian around. House Republicans have been consistently outraised by their Democratic counterparts, despite the GOP being in the majority. Their strategy and tactics have been called into question during the final weeks of campaigning. Pockets of the NRCC’s staff are deeply unhappy. And they are likely to fall short of their publicly proclaimed goal of winning nearly a dozen seats; Walden’s ‘Drive for 245’ will have turned out to be nothing but a fundraising ploy.” http://politi.co/1rS9ZD3

UPDATE FROM THE FEC: “We have eliminated the backlog in processing of the 2014 third-quarter Senate reports and are posting PDFs of the reports within 48 hours of receipt from the Senate Public Records Office, per our normal practice. We appreciate your patience last week as we processed an unprecedented volume of these paper filings.”

-- The group is also out with a satirical video needling Democratic Sen. Mark Udall that draws on the 1980s television series “Dynasty.” It’s the NRSC’s third installment in a series: http://youtu.be/KxaggB98Xqk

“Scott Walker limps toward 2016,” by Alexander Burns from Milwaukee: “In the glow of his recall election victory two years ago, Scott Walker looked like a conservative superhero ... These days, Walker is looking more like just an ordinary Midwestern man. The politician who confidently lectured Mitt Romney in 2012 ... has tumbled into yet another fight for his political life. Far from a conservative Clark Kent, Walker is visibly straining in the closing days of his race against Mary Burke, a wealthy former Trek Bicycle executive and member of the Madison School Board. http://politi.co/1rzQDRO

“Obama boosts Burke in Wisconsin,” by Carrie Budoff Brown from Milwaukee, with Alexander Burns: “President Barack Obama urged his most loyal supporters — African-Americans — to turn out for Democrat Mary Burke in one of the premier gubernatorial races in the country … Obama drew explicit contrasts, both politically and personally, between [Walker] and Burke, a Madison School Board member and former state commerce chief who has invested millions of her personal wealth in the race.” http://politi.co/1rSaRaC

“Pelosi to Democrats: ‘Urgent need’ for cash,” by Lauren French: “House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told colleagues on Tuesday that Democrats have an ‘urgent need’ to give money to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the final days before the midterm election. On a caucus-wide, members-only conference call, Pelosi and DCCC Chairman Steve Israel, of New York, stressed that members needed to quickly pay their party dues so Democrats would have cash to run last-minute ads and maintain get-out-the-vote programs, a Democratic aide said. The call focused on broader messaging and included a call for ‘more resources so the DCCC can continue to keep pace with Republican outside groups and self-funders who continue to dump money into races across the country in a tough environment,’ said the Democratic aide. http://politi.co/ZXqTbW

Daybook: Gov. Pat Quinn (D-Ill.) and his Republican rival Bruce Rauner will hold Facebook Q&As this week to answer questions directly from voters. Quinn’s up first with a 9 p.m. ET session tonight, and Rauner goes tomorrow at the same time. The Q&As will be featured on the Facebook page of WLS-TV in Chicago: http://on.fb.me/1wbO3Ie

CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: “At the end of the day, I’m a United States Marine, and I’m tenacious.” — Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.), when pressed on the time he threatened a NY1 reporter and a federal investigation. http://bit.ly/1wL3LeT

YOU’RE INVITED:Playbook Lunch duet on THURSDAY with DSCC Executive Director Guy Cecil and NRSC Executive Director Rob Collins talking about the hot Senate races, what’s working, the latest technology and the clues they’ll be watching for on Election Night. Outside cameras and correspondents welcome: This is a one-stop shop for your election wrap-ups, previews, predictions, set-ups, punditry. Doors open at noon in the nightclub of The Hamilton, 14 th and F. RSVP here: http://bit.ly/1t6TNk5

** A message from CampaignHQ: Election Night. Will it be a glorious celebration or a crushing defeat?

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About The Author : Kyle Cheney

Kyle Cheney is a Congress reporter for POLITICO

Cheney joined the Congress team after covering the 2016 presidential election on POLITICO's politics team. He covered the Republican primary field with a focus on the national GOP, the Republican National Convention and the internal machinations of the party as it adjusted to the emergence of Donald Trump.

Cheney came to POLITICO in June 2012 to cover health care and spent two years covering the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and its political implications. He also covered the 2014 midterms for POLITICO's Campaign Pro. He joined POLITICO after five years reporting on Massachusetts government and politics for the State House News Service, an independent wire service in Boston.

Cheney, a New York native, graduated from Boston University in 2007 with a journalism degree after a semester as editor of BU’s independent student paper, The Daily Free Press.